Affordable Housing

In the past two years Edmonton is second only to Calgary in having the lowest rental vacancy rate in Canada, and trails only Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary in having the highest monthly rents. Lack of affordable housing supply and unaffordable rents threatens to overwhelm efforts to end homelessness in the city.

Edmonton’s facts:

1 in 4 Edmonton households live in unaffordable housing

In 2011, households of all types struggled with affordability including: 40,000 one person households; 27,500 families with children; 11,400 couple families without children and 7,800 other households.

Between 2006 and 2014, rental housing construction accounted for only 7% of housing starts.

Children and youth (under the age of 24) account for 29% of the homeless population.

The facts are clear. In order to eliminate poverty within our city we will need a comprehensive strategy that effectively deals with the affordable housing crisis in Edmonton.

The priorities within the EndPovertyEdmonton Strategy are designed to work alongside and to supplement the vision and actions of the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and the newly created Affordable Housing Strategy. This game changer emphasizes that commitment from all government levels is needed for both short and long-term funding and policy changes that will make a difference in our city.